review: 'so magnifique' spa day, sofitel so spa, london

Wahanda is a revelation of epic magnitude. It is basically spa version of Groupon. In order to chase away those mid-term blues, I bought a coupon for the So Magnifique spa day at Sofitel Hotel St James's So Spa, which is an absolute bargain at £155 for two people.

My boyfriend and I arrived at Sofitel rather out of breath after a mad dash thanks to the outrageous traffic on the Strand at 11am on a Thursday afternoon. Sofitel is one of those swanky five-star hotels just a staircase away from St James's Park. The easiest way of getting there is to take the tube to Piccadilly, walk down Haymarket, and turn right. It's on the corner of Waterloo Place and Pall Mall.

After filling out a form asking anything from allergies to how you like your music, we were presently shown the dressing rooms and facilities, which were thankfully empty. The ladies' room is very well-equipped with elaborate showers, fluffy towels and most importantly, a hair-dryer. (According to my boyfriend the men's room was rather cramped though.)

You have an hour to lounge about a private jacuzzi (amazing!) and a steam room, so make sure you're not late like we were. The facilities were top notch, spotlessly clean and very well maintained. The jacuzzi was wonderfully romantic - I've decided that I want a hot tub some point in the future.

Every couple has their own room with a private jaccuzi

The setting and lighting of the room alludes to a Balinese villa with an outdoor pool

The highlight of the day was, however, the 60-minute treatment itself. We signed up for the 'In-Deep Relaxing massage', and good God was it relaxing. We had our massage in a beautiful treatment room, with a glowing bathtub which we unfortunately were not invited to take a dip in. The music, aroma and bed temperature were all configured to our preferences, and the massage was the best I have ever had. Both our masseuses were professional, discrete and just incredibly talented at what they do. I literally had to be peeled off the bed at the end of the hour.

As if the two hours worth of pampering were not enough, the spa day also includes a generous afternoon tea in the beautiful and rather eclectic lobby. The desserts in particular were a delight. I swear we were literally glowing when we left So Spa in a dream-like trance at 3pm. Not a bad place to be on a Thursday afternoon.

All photos are my property.

review: port-a-portea at the berkeley, autumn/winter 2012

Hello! Well it has been an exhausting week of excessive celebrations, including a dinner at Le Gavroche (and meeting the man Michel Roux Jnr himself), parties, champagne and of course, the long-awaited Pret-a-Portea at the Berkeley in London.

The waiting list is about 3 months long I believe - I booked a table online about 4 months ago. For a ridiculously long wait, I suppose the ultimate fashionista high tea experience was marginally worth the £40 per person price tag. The setting is lovely, especially if you're lucky enough to bag one of the plush sofa seats. The Paul Smith dining ware was a nice touch, but I could see bits of paint peeling off.

So, the food. There is definitely enough to go round the pair of us, thanks to free refills! We were asked three times if we wanted more food (we said yes twice), including the beautiful pastries on the middle tier. And the quality? A bit hit and miss. The sandwiches and the savoury snacks on the lower tier were average, and out of the pastries only the macaron really stood out to me. The beautiful green YSL bag felt more like playdough in my mouth and didn't really taste like pistachio as it's meant to be. The mousse cakes and biscuits were nothing to write home about either, and my sister didn't particularly like the mousses on the top tier either.

I know I'm sketching it as a rather negative experience, but to be fair, I went for the novelty of it. If you're looking to have a long girlfriend gossip sesh over a unique, swanky afternoon tea, then go for it. Just don't expect too much of the food.

Plus, we got adorable takeaway boxes, and I got the macaron, so no (overtly vocal) complaints from me.

All photos are my property.

Review: Athenaeum Spa, London (4 out of 5 stars)

I still can't believe that I forgot my bikini this morning... I actually contemplated going into the hot tub in my birthday suit. In my defence, I was the only one in the spa, but I chickened out.

My impulsive thoughts are testimony to the coolness of the Athenaeum Spa. I finally went today after buying a LivingSocial voucher literally 6 months ago. I've never actually been to an actual spa before, and it was overall a great experience. See the title? I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.

The 'wet area', Athenaeum Spa 

Facilities: 5/5
The changing room has everything you need: lockers, bathrobe, slippers, shower, towels, hairdryer and straightener, plus a big mirror for post-spa primping.

I love the 'wet area': there are 2 hot tubs, a steam room, a rainshower and sofas and magazines just for chilling. There are juices and water just outside the area and they are free to guests.

The treatment: 3/5
The treatment itself was slightly underwhelming. The massage was alright, but the 'facial' was pretty shit, for the lack of a better word. The lady seemed to be an amateur beautician, she squirted cleansing oil onto my eye for crying out loud... thank God I had squeezed my eyes shut. The handiwork was sloppy and my skin didn't feel particularly clean or rehydrated at the end.

The location: 5/5
But, having said that, the spa, being right opposite the huge Hyde Park is a definite point of redemption. I took a leisurely stroll in the sunshine down Piccadilly to Hyde Park Corner. To complete the experience, I took bus number 10 down to Bond Street and got me some sushiiiiii from Atariya on the way home. Okay I lie, I actually went home but the sushi will absolutely be on the agenda next time.

Wellington Arch, Hyde Park Corner

I heard the reception lady talking to a customer on the phone about a 'mix and match' offer, and I checked it out here. It says it's expired in January, but for £50 per person I think it's worth calling them up to see if the offer's still valid anyway. Dialing now.